Verse 11 has set the scene for the speaker’s comment here. We note that the focus is on the vineyard and who owns it. The words Solomon, keepers, fruit, and thousand all echo what has been said, tying these two verses together. However, verse 12 is meant to express contrast, so a contrastive conjunction such as “But” will be very appropriate.
My vineyard, my very own, is for myself: this clause is ambiguous and its interpretation depends on who is speaking. If the young woman is speaking, she means that, while Solomon may hire out his vineyard, her “vineyard” is not for hire. My vineyard, my very own forcefully expresses her ownership of it. It echoes 1.6, so see the discussion there. Is for myself is literally “is before my face.” This means that the vineyard is still in her possession, in her care. Jerusalem Bible says “But I look after my own vineyard myself.” New International Version and New English Bible go further: “But my own vineyard is mine to give.” New American Bible is similar: “My vineyard is at my own disposal.” The vineyard is figurative for the young woman, so she is saying she will give her love, that is, herself, to the person she desires. This comment can be linked to verse 7, where we learn that no amount of money can buy a woman’s love. It may also link with verses 8-10, where the woman seems to want to show her independence from her brothers. She owns the vineyard and she will give it to whomever she likes.
But some major translations, including Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, along with Fox, see this entire passage as spoken by the young man. In this case the above clause means, in the words of Good News Translation, “I have a vineyard of my own.” Fox shows the young man’s pride of ownership: “But my vineyard is before me.” While at first the vineyard belongs to the young woman (1.6), this verse announces a change of perspective; the young woman has given the vineyard to him, so it now belongs to him. The young woman he loves is his, so he feels “richer” than Solomon. He tells Solomon to keep his vineyard and his money.
In view of the difficulty of making a decision as to which interpretation is correct, the best we can do is choose one speaker and include a footnote giving the other possible rendering.
You, O Solomon, may have the thousand: there are two basic views of this verse. Either the young man speaks and addresses “Solomon,” or it is a play on words, the young woman addressing her lover as “Solomon.”
Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and Bible en français courant see this as a challenge to a figurative Solomon. (In Good News Translation and Bible en français courant the taunt is made by the young man; in Contemporary English Version by the young woman). Good News Translation and Bible en français courant both place this clause at the beginning of the verse to emphasize that Solomon is not the owner. Bible en français courant says “Solomon, keep your 1,000 pieces of silver, with 200 for the guards! My vineyard belongs to me. I keep it myself.” We can render Solomon as a vocative as in Bible en français courant, or we can make his name part of a wish, “Let Solomon have his 1,000 coins,” or as in Good News Translation, “Solomon is welcome to his 1,000 coins….”
However, the other interpretation considers the term Solomon to be a praise name the young woman uses for her lover. She states that she is the one in charge of her vineyard, and she willingly offers up all its benefits to her beloved. If we adopt this interpretation, we can add the term “my lover,” or say “my Solomon” for greater clarity. In languages where the device can be understood, we can put “Solomon” in inverted commas to highlight this change in usage.
The thousand is the amount to be paid for rent of the vineyard as in verse 11. In this manner the young woman is saying to her lover that she looks after her vineyard herself, she is not hiring it out to others, but the profit she makes she gives to him. Using this kind of imagery she tells her lover that she is offering herself to him and to no other. If we take this approach, we may say “To you, my darling, my Solomon, I give the thousand [silver coins],” or “My lover Solomon, to you [alone] I give a thousand silver coins.”
And the keepers of the fruit two hundred: who are these keepers? We noted that in verse 11 some see Solomon’s “vineyard” as his harem, so the keepers may be his eunuchs. At this point, however, the analogy seems to be breaking down. If the young woman is calling her lover “Solomon,” and her vineyard is her love, the keepers of the fruit can possibly be the young woman herself. We remember that in 1.6 she is a “keeper,” and that even though keepers is a plural, singular reference is a possibility. If we retain this interpretation the sense is “Solomon, my lover, take your 1,000 coins; I, the keeper [or, the owner], will have the 200,” or “I give the 1,000 coins to you, my Solomon; give me only 200.” Thus the young woman willingly gives up the rights to her vineyard.
Keepers of the fruit is literally “keepers of its fruit.” Here “its” refers back to the vineyard.
Two hundred refers to the wages the hired farmers received. We can render it as “two hundred coins.” The number is representative—it contrasts a small amount (two hundred) with the larger amount (one thousand). If the young man is speaking, he refers to his good fortune. While Solomon has to share his benefits with his tenants, the young man has his vineyard (with all its benefits) to himself. If the woman is speaking and referring to herself, this sum shows she is willing to give most of the “benefit” to her “king.”
Good News Translation adds “… and the farmers [are welcome] to two hundred as their share.” This helps to make the relationship between Solomon and the tenants clear and can be added if necessary.
We have said there are two possibilities of interpretation here. We propose both as models, though we prefer the view that the speaker is the young man.
The verse should have a footnote indicating that the identity of the speaker is not certain.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .